Umbrella



A. W. SUCHY Nov. 16, 1965 UMBRELLA 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 25, 1963I NVEN TOR.

Nov.16,1965

Filed March 25, 1965 A. W. 5U CHY UMBRELLA 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 UnitedStates Patent 3,217,723 UMBRELLA Adalbert W. Suchy, 1934 Webster Ave.,Bronx, N.Y. Filed Mar. 25, 1963, Ser. No. 267,420 6 Claims. (Cl. 13520)This invention relates to umbrellas and more specifically to a novel andimproved umbrella characterized by its simplicity, utility andrelatively low cost.

One object of the invention resides in the provision of a novel andimproved umbrella having relatively few parts and which is relativelyeasy to manufacture, attractive and light in weight.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a noveland improved umbrella utilizing an arrangement and coordination ofelements greatly simplifying umbrella construction and its operation.

Still another object of the invention resides in the provision of anovel and improved umbrella.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will becomemore apparent from the following description and accompanying drawingsforming part of this application.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of an umbrella in accordance withthe invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view in partial section of the umbrellaof FIGURE 1 in the open position.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the umbrella of FIG. 1taken along the line 33 thereof.

FIGURE 4 is an exploded perspective view of the umbrella rib retainerand actuator.

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of the assembled actuator of FIG. 4in place on the umbrella shaft.

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 5 taken along the line 66thereof.

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view of a modified actuator in accordancewith the invention.

FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional view of the actuator shown in FIG. 7 andtaken along the line 88 thereof.

FIGURE 9 is a cross-sectional view of FIGURE 1 taken along the line 99thereof.

The umbrella or parasol in accordance with the invention comprises a rodor shaft 10 and a canopy 11 carried by the shaft and movable from aclosed position as shown in FIG. 1 to an open position as shown in FIG.2 by means of the improved arrangement of a plurality of ribs 12 and acentral sliding actuator 13. While the operation of the umbrella will bedescribed in detail, it will be observed from FIGS. 1 and 2 that theactuator 13, when the umbrella is closed, is in an upper position on theshaft 10 as shown in FIG. 1, while when the umbrella is open as shown inFIG. 2, the actuator 13 has been moved downwardly on the shaft 10.

More specifically, the rod 10 is provided with a conventional handle orother suitable gripping means 14 on one end thereof, while the other endengages the center of the canopy. In the illustrated embodiment of theinvention the center or apex 11' of the canopy is provided with severalreenforcing layers and has an opening 15 therein. A hollow cap 16 iscemented or otherwise secured to the apex 11 of the canopy and inregistration with the opening 15. The end of the rod or shaft 10 extendsthrough the opening 15 and is cemented or otherwise secured within thecap 16.

The radiating ribs 12 which are carried by the actuator or operator 13are preferably formed of resilient wire or rods, and in the instantembodiment of the invention, each pair of adjoining ribs are formed of asingle piece of material bent in the form of a U with a short connectingportion 17 to facilitate installation in the 3,217,723 Patented Nov. 16,1965 ice actuator 13 as will be observed more clearly in FIG. 4. Theouter end 12 of each rib is bent at a slight obtuse angle as will beobserved in FIG. 2. With this arrangement, as the ribs are moved to anessentially horizontal position as shown in FIG. 2, the end portions 12lie in close proximity to the inner surface of the canopy 11. When thecanopy is in the open position, the ribs exert an outward and downwardpressure holding the canopy taut and at the same time exert an upwardpressure on the actuator 13. Thus, any buckling of the central portionsof the ribs will tend to be in an upward rather than a downward positionso that as long as the actuator is retained in the position such as thatshown in FIG. 2, the canopy will remain taut. With this construction andwhen the ribs are made of a reasonably stiff material, they affordmaterial resistance to wind pressures tending to either collapse orinvert the canopy, and these advantages are attained by the utilizationof single rib elements without any diagonal supporting means as in thecase of known structures for umbrellas and parasols.

The actuator 13, shown more clearly in FIGS. 4 and 5, comprises acylindrical body 18 having five segmental elements 19 disposed inequally spaced relationship about the periphery of the body 18 andadjoining the upper end 20 thereof. Each of the elements 19 includes atransverse root slot or groove 21 adjoining the body 18 and having adepth roughly corresponding to the thickness or diameter of the sections17 of the cooperating ribs 12. The angular width of each of the elements19 is also coordinated with the configuration of the ribs so that thelength of the connecting portion 17 of each pair of ribs is slightlygreater than the length of the channel or recess 21. In this way ribs 12will move relatively close to the side surfaces of the associatedelements 19 as may be observed more clearly in FIG. 6. The ribs are heldin place in their respective recesses 21 by a top plate 22 that may becemented or otherwise secured to the faces 19' of the segmental elements19. With this construction, the ribs 17 may be pivoted downwardly to theposition shown, for instance, in FIG. 3, but the angularmovementupwardly relative to the actuator 13 is limited by the top plate 22.This arrangement tends to restrict bowing of the ribs and exerts addedforce on the edge of the canopy 11. In addition, the limitation of theupward motion of the ribs 12 produces a more rigid structure and onethat effectively re srsts inversion of the canopy.

While any suitable means may be utilized for fixing the actuator 13 in apredetermined position on the rod or shaft 10 to hold the canopy in itsopen position, as shown in FIG. 2, the instant embodiment of theinvention utilizes an elongated key 23 secured to or formed integrallywith the shaft 10. The key extends preferably from the upper end of theshaft as shown in FIG. 2 downwardly to a point defined by the uppersurfaces of the actuator 13 when the inner portions of the ribs 12 lieessentially in a horizontal plane. The actuator is pro-' vided with acooperating keyway 24 adapted to slidably receive the key 23. With theumbrella in the closed position and the keyway 24 in engagement with thekey 23, the actuator is moved downwardly to open the umbrella and at thepoint when the actuator becomes disengaged from the key 23, the actuatoris rotated slightly on the shaft 10 and then released. Because of theupward pressure exerted by the ribs on the actuator 13, the actuatorwill move upwardly against the lower end of the key 23 so that the keywill now retain the actuator in a position shown in FIG. 2 and hold theumbrella in the open position. To release the actuator and permit theumbrella to be closed, it is merely necessary to rotate the actuator inone direction or the other until the keyway 24 is aligned with the key23, in which case the actuator will merely slide upwardly, and thecanopy will collapse to the closed position as shown in FIG. 1. Ifdesired, a suitable tab may be secured to the periphery of the canopy 11for encircling the ends of the ribs 12 to hold the canopy in thecollapsed position.

The canopy 11 may, of course, be fabricated of any suitable material,such as cloth, plastic or the like, and preferably includes a seam orhem 26 about the periphery in order to prevent ripping or tearing of thecanopy when in the stressed position. Moreover, any suitable means maybe employed for securing the ends of the ribs 12 to the canopy. Forinstance, the canopy may be provided with a plurality of cup-likeelements 27 secured at spaced points about the periphery to receive theends of the ribs 12, the latter being cemented therein to preventaccidental disengagement. If desired, other procedures may be utilized,as, for instance, the formation of a triangularly shaped loop on the endof each of the ribs 12 which may then be sewn or otherwise secured to areenforced canopy edge. Under certain conditions, it may be desirable tolimit the downwardmost position of the actuator 13 and for this purpose,a pin 28 or other suitable stop may be secured to the rod or shaft 10 asshown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

While in an inexpensive version of the umbrella in accordance with theinvention, the shaft 10 may be made of wood, and the actuator 13 and thecanopy 11 of plastic materials, it is evident that the structure isequally adaptable to more expensive constructions utilizing a metalshaft 10 with a silk or fabric canopy.

A modified form of the actuator 13 is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. In thisembodiment of the invention, the actuator generally denoted by thenumeral 30 includes a cylindrical member 31 having a peripheral flange32 spaced from the top end 30' thereof. The flange 32 is provided with aplurality of slots 33, each slot being slightly wider than the diameterof the ribs 34. Each of the ribs 34 includes an opening 35, and a wire36 is fed through the openings to secure the ribs in position about thecylindrical member 31 as illustrated in FIG. 8. It will be observed thatthe ribs can ride from a horizontal position to a downwardly extendingposition within their respective slots 33. The ribs are secured inposition by an overlying plate 37 which may be cemented or otherwisesecured to the upper end 30" of the cylindrical member 31 and flatagainst the top side of the flange-like portion 32. The flange-likeportion 32 includes an annular root slot or groove 32' for the receptionof the wire 36 so that the plate 37 will fit flush against theflange-like member 32.

With the foregoing embodiment of the invention, the operation of theumbrella or parasol is identical to the operation illustrated anddescribed in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2, and the ribs 34 have endconfigurations substantially the same as that described in connectionwith the ribs 12.

While only certain embodiments of the invention have been illustratedand described, it is understood that altera tions, modifications andchanges may be made without departing from the true scope and spiritthereof as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An umbrella comprising a shaft, a canopy secured at its center to oneend of said shaft, an actuator slidably carried on said shaft, saidactuator having a sleeve, a plurality of spaced segmental elementsextending from one end of said sleeve with each element having atransverse root slot, a plurality of ribs with each pair of ribsconnected by a transverse connecting portion disposed within one of saidroot slots and with the ribs extending outwardly therefrom and betweenadjoining segmental elements, means retaining said transverse connectingportions in their associated root slots, means connecting the outer endsof said ribs to the periphery of said canopy and releasable means forsecuring the actuator in spaced relationship to said canopy to hold thelatter in the open position and releasable for movement toward thecanopy to close the umbrella.

2. An umbrella according to claim 1 wherein each of said ribs includesan end portion disposed at an obtuse angle with reference to theremainder of the rib.

3. An umbrella according to claim 2 wherein said releasable meansincludes an elongated key carried by said shaft and a cooperating keywayin said actuator.

4. An umbrella comprising a shaft, a canopy secured at its center to oneend of said shaft, an actuator slidably engaging said shaft, a pluralityof radially disposed canopy supporting ribs each pivotally connected atone end to the actuator and at the other end to the periphery of thecanopy, said actuator having an annular flanged portion with a pluralityof radially formed slots in the underside thereof to receive said ribs,each of said ribs having end portions at an angle less than relative tothe remaining portion of the rib, said actuator being movable to andfrom positions on and adjoining the end of the shaft to which the canopyis secured to close and open the canopy respectively, the upper surfaceof said slots engaging said ribs with the canopy in the open position tolimit pivotal movement of the ribs to a predetermined angular positionrelative to the shaft, and releasable means engaging the actuator andshaft to hold the actuator in position spaced from said end of saidshaft and with the canopy in the open position.

5. An umbrella according to claim 4 wherein said releasable meanscomprises an elongated key carried by said shaft and said actuatorincludes a groove for cooperation with said key.

6. An umbrella comprising a shaft, a canopy secured at its center to oneend of said shaft, an actuator slidably engaging said shaft, a pluralityof radially disposed canopy supporting ribs each pivotally connected atone end to the actuator and at the other end to the periphery of thecanopy, each of said ribs having end portions at an angle less than 180relative to the remaining porr tion of the rib, said actuator beingmovable to and from positions on and adjoining the end of the shaft towhich the canopy is secured to close and open the canopy respectively,means on said actuator engaging said ribs with the canopy in the openposition to limit pivotal movement of the ribs to a predeterminedangular position relative to the shaft, and releasable means engagingthe actuator and shaft to hold the actuator in position spaced from saidend of said shaft and with the canopy in the open position, saidactuator including a sleeve, a plurality of spaced radially disposedsegmental elements extending from one end of said sleeve, transverseroot slots in said elements, means in said root slots pivotally securingsaid ribs to said sleeve with each rib extending outwardly betweenadjoining segmental elements.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS HARRISON R.MOSELEY, Primary Examiner.

4. AN UMBRELLA COMPRISING A SHAFT, A CANOPY SECURED AT ITS CENTER TO ONEEND OF SAID SHAFT, AN ACTUATOR SLIDABLY ENGAGING SAID SHAFT, A PLURALITYOF RADIALLY DISPOSED CANOPY SUPPORTING RIBS EACH PIVOTALLY CONNECTED ATONE END TO THE ACTUATOR AND AT THE OTHER END OF THE PERIPHERY OF THECANOPY, SAID ACTUATOR HAVING AN ANNULAR FLANGED PORTION WITH A PLURALITYOF RADIALLY FORMED SLOTS IN THE UNDERSIDE THEREOF TO RECEIVE SAID RIBS,EACH OF SAID RIBS HAVING END PORTIONS AT AN ANGLE LESS THAN 180*RELATIVE TO THE REMAINING PORTION OF THE RIB, SAID ACTUATOR BEINGMOVABLE TO AND FROM POSITIONS ON AND ADJOINING THE END OF THE SHAFT TOWHICH THE CANOPY IS SECURED TO CLOSE AND OPEN THE CANOPY RESPECTIVELY,THE UPPER SURFACE OF SIAD SLOTS ENGAGING SAID RIBS WITH THE CANOPY INTHE OPEN POSITION TO LIMIT PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF THE RIBS TO APREDETERMINED ANGULAR POSITION RELATIVE TO THE SHAFT, AND RELEASABLEMEANS ENGAGING THE ACTUATOR AND SHAFT TO HOLD THE ACTUATOR IN POSITIONSPACED FROM SAID END OF SAID SHAFT AND WITH THE CANOPY IN THE OPENPOSITION.